The useful advice thread

Sometimes, no matter how bad you want it to be the case, a guitar is not the best instrument to play the part.
 
Gently crimp the legs of straight leg capacitors to reduce the chance they break off at the base and can't be repaired like the one on the right.

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Turn the heat down on a soldering iron when soldering on cheap mini toggles

Once the plastic around the terminal melts

The switch wont work
 
This one is for all the active pickup manufacturers out there. Spend the few extra pennies to make the pup connecter 5-pin instead of 3-pin. You still only need a 3-wire red/white/black connecter cable. The reds and ground's are linked in the connecter header. This way, we don't have to get down there with a flashlight and a magnifier to see which way the plug goes on. Or research it online for the diagram. It's symmetrical. It doesn't matter which way you plug it in.

Active_Plug_Design.png
 
I find that usually a hotter iron is safer because it solders almost instantly. Having a not quite hot enough iron means I leave it on longer and am more likely to cook things.

Its the same as cooking a steak, the lower the temperature, the more heat gets into the inside by the time the outside is done cooking.
 
If you use some active pickups, and forget to unplug the plug, (like me), wire up a push-push switch as an on-off switch, with "out" being "off." That way, when you play, the switch is down out of the way, and the guitar looks normal. The "out" reminds you that it's off.
 
I don't care how big of a "music theory kills creativity" person you are, at the absolute bare minimum spend an afternoon learning how to use a circle of fifths. It's all stuff you can discover through experimentation, but it's a lot easier to just learn the shortcuts.

I wouldn't recommend reading to learn it, because music's not really a reading activity. Have a friend explain it to you, or maybe just do a one off music lesson at a guitar shop.
 
I picked up a pick case for $11 on Walmart.com. I got tired of my Altoids cases opening and spilling picks in my gig bag. It also has a small pocket where I can store a couple of extra sets of strings.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Guitar-P...assType=REGULAR&athbdg=L1100&adsRedirect=true

iyCIOp5.jpg
 
You haven't had Tater Tots 'til you've had smoked Tater Tots. It's the only way we cook them now. (Unless it's raining.)
 
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